Vapor condenser and method of making the same



VAPOR .CONDENSER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 17, 1936 Gama Luzon,

Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFio' VAPOR CONDENSER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME aware Application December 17, 1936, Serial No. 116,418

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a vapor condenser and method of making the same.

It has heretofore been'proposed to make a vapor condenser by providing an inner tubular conduit having exteriorly thereof a spirally aarranged fin and installing the same inside of a casing contacting the outer periphery of said spirally arranged fin, so that said fin, together with the inner conduit and the outer casing, provides a spirally arranged passage through which a cooling medium may be circulated for condensing the vapor flowing into said inner conduit. A device of this character has the advantage that the spirally arranged fin may be made of any desired radial depth so that the cooling medium passage may be made as radially deep as desired to pass a predetermined quantity of cooling medium therethrough. But a device of this construction has the disadvantage that the actual area of contact of the condensable vapor with a wall which is directly engaged with the cooling medium on the outside is limited to the area of the inner tubular conduit wall however much the depth of the cooling medium passage may be increased, so that dependence has to be placed upon conduction through the spirally arranged fin for increasing the cooling effect due to the larger quantity of cooling medium flowing through the spirally arranged passage as its radial depth is increased.

On the other hand, it has heretofore been proposed to provide a condenser by forming a onepiece tubular corrugated metal wall'having corrugations arranged spirally thereof and mounting the same in a casing with the external spaces between the spirally arranged corrugations and the casing providing a spirally arranged passage through which cooling medium may be circulated, while the interior of the corrugated wall constitutes a chamber in which the vapors may be condensed. Such a construction overcomes some of the disadvantages inherent in the structure employing a spirally arranged fin as above referred to in that the area of contact of the condensible vapor with a wall in direct contact with the cooling medium on the outside is increased by reason of the corrugated configuration of the conduit. But a device of this construction has the disadvantage that it has been found impracticable if not impossible to obtain a cooling medium passage of sufficient radial depth to pass the desired quantity of cooling medium, because experience has demonstrated that under known methods of corrugating tubular walls the physical characteristics of the tube to be corrugated impose very definite limitations onthe depth and axial width of the corrugations that can be practicably formed therein. Moreover, even to obtain corrugations of fair depth only a narrow range of metals or alloys may be employed because of the within practicable manufacturing incapacity, operations, of many metals and alloys, that would otherwise be desirable for use with particular vapors to be condensed, to withstand the stresses to which the tube is subjected in the course of c forming relatively deep corrugations therein, even though said corrugations be formed slowly and progressively by rolling or hydrostatic operations. Hence'as a practical matter it has been found to be impossible to use certain metals or alloys in condensers employing corrugated walls although highly desirable from the standpoint of the vapors to be condensed, while with all condensers of this character the difiiculty has been encountered of increasing to the desired extent the area of thecontact of the vapors with a wall directly in contact with the cooling medium on the outside and also in providing a passage for the cooling medium of such radial depth and axial width as to afford the desired cross sectional area for the flow of cooling medium while still causing it to remain in contact with said wall for the desired length of time owing to the number of circuits of said Wall determined by the number of corrugations per unit of length. Hence, convapor'condenser employing a corrugated wall and method of making the same which retains the advantages above pointed out with respect to the and which at thesame time overcomes the difficulties and disadvantages heretofore attendant upon their use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a condenser and method of making the same which combines the advantages of both types of conuse of condensers having a corrugated inner wall densers above discussed while avoiding the difliculties and disadvantages heretofore attendant upon their use.

Another object of this invention is to provide;

a condenser and method of making the same whereby the'inner wallthereof in contact with the condensable vapor may be of corrugated form and made of suitable metal for contact with the particular vapor to be handled even though the metal to be used does not lend itself to corrugating operations when made in tubular form.

Another object of this invention is to provide a condenser and method of making the same whereby the inner wall thereof may be made in spirally corrugated form with the corrugations thereof of any suitable depth and "width.

Anotherobject of this invention is to provide a condenser and method of making the same whereby the inner wall thereof may be formed by a spirally corrugated wall whose corrugations are of such depth as to afford adequatezspacefor handling the desired flow of cooling medium and at the same time the number ,of corrugations per unit of length may be made such as to retain the cooling medium in contact with the wall of the condensing space for the desired length of time.

Another object of this invention-is totprovidea condenser and method of making the same whereby the area of contact between the vaporon the inside with. a wall ,having .the coolingimediumiin ,direct scontacttherewith on the outside may be increased .to .the .desired extent.

-Another0bject .of .thisinvention is to provide .25 .a xnondenser .and .method .of making .the .same

whereby ithe .con'denser ,may .b,e .produ'ced rapidly Lby .relatively .simple machine operations, requiring ilittle .or'no .skilledlabor, .to the end that .the econdenser .may be manufactured in relatively 130 large \quantities by standardized ioperations ,and

at,a .rlativlyilow ,cost.

.Qther .tibiects .will .appearas the description .of .the. inventiomproceeds.

The .method .of .the present invention may be .66 .carried ,out indifferent .ways and .the .resulting .s'tructuremaytakea variety. off orms' one of which is illustrated on .the .accompanying drawing, but .it.is to beexpressly.understoodthahthe drawing .Ais for purposesiof illustration only, andis not .to 40 be .construed .as ,a definition of ..the limits .of .the invention, .reference being .had .to the appended claims Qfor .that purpose.

'Referring ,to the drawing which illustrates .in

ms sectional elevation,.s.omewhat= diagrammatica11,. an-embodiment .of .thepresent invention, 1 [1 its ithe exterior Leasing of .the condenser, and may ;b e .of any suitablesizeshape, material rand construction. As shown, it has formed thereon or suitably attached thereto a pair ofbracketsor 50 other ap ropriate means H] for mounting the same-in any suitable way. Communicating with openings formed in the peripheral wall of.said casing, at or adjacent opposite ends thereof, are nipples 12 and -13 secured to the casing in any suitable way and appropriately formed for ,the conn'ection therewith of inlet and outlet con- =duits for "the cooling medium.

*Mounted within the casing I0 is 'a deeply and epirally'corrugatedmetaltube M having'its outv60 side diameter preferably such that it constitutes ablose-fitwit-h -the interior of the casing in, so that the outwardly directed corrugations thereof, by engagement with the casing In as at E5, provide anon'tinuous spirally directed passage I6 415 rextending from end '-'to =end of the casing and through-which any suitable cooling medium may be rciroulated. In :conformity 'with' the present iinvention said spirally corrugated tubular wall I 4 is so formed that the spiral passage 1.6 formed by the corrugations "thereof :is relatively deep in :a :radial direction :,and relatively narrow an :a-xial zdirection :so that inicross section the spiral- :ly-directed ;passage 'is sufficiently large for the passage therethroughbf :the {desired quantity of ,15 cooling-medium toabstractrthe propenquantities of heat required of the condenser while providing at the same time a sufficient number of circuits within the axial length of the condenser so that the cooling medium is retained in contact with the inner wall thereof for that length of reaction .with said vapor.

"Whereas, even with metals which readily lend themselvesintubular form to the formation of corrugations, corrugations of the depth and cross sectional aconfiguration desired for the cooling medium passage of a condenser cannot be readily orefficiently obtained, if at all, because of the relatively great stresses imposed on a tubular wall when an effort is made to form such corrugations ,thereineither by rolling. or hydrostatic operations now known to .the art, Ihave found thatcorru- ,gations of the desired depth and cross section .can. be readily obtained to. secure .the 2 appropriate cooling .medium passages by providing a metallic .stripof a width approximately'equal totwice-the sdesired depth of .the corrugation plus three times .thelsemiecircumferenceiof the bends needed to give .the .walls thereof the desired spacing, 'and .then progressively passing the samebetweenrolls which gradually bend the strip along its medial line whilelreverselybending-the lateral extremi- .tiesof :the strip .until the strip is formed into a corrugation composed of opposed lateral walls Joined-along them'edial line by'a transverse bend of .the desired .radius ofcurvature and having reversely directed'curved lateral extremitieswhich .may be of .the same-era different curvature. The

procedure .for bending this thin strip .may be of anyrsuitable character,such for example as disclosed in the patent to Harrah, No. 1,964,289, granted June,26, 1934,;for Manufacture of .con duits. Thebentstrip :may bereadily coiled upon itself in the course -of its manufacture sothat vthecurved lateral extremities thereof are overlapped as illustrated on the drawing, and a -hermetic seal may then be formed between these overlapping surfaces in -anyrsuitable .way, as 'by meltingan interposed strip of wire solder or by welding :or otherwise sealing the joint between the contacting surfaces. In the drawing said overlapris shown at the inner bends, but it will'be appreciated that the corrugated strip may be coiled .so that the overlap occurs at the outer bends, and this is preferred for some constructions.

-As themetal in the course of its progressive deformation into the corrugated form as heretofore describedis not subjected to the stresses of forming deepcorrugations in-a tube, the strip maybe selected of-suitable width so that corrugations 'of the desired depth and cross section may be obtained, thereby-increasing the total surface of the corrugated wall to that extent desired to afford the desired area .of heat exchange there- -through, while at :the same time rendering the corrugations of .such cross sectional configuration that the desired radial depth and axial width re obtained to secure the desired rate of circulation of cooling medium therethrough and rugation in tubular form. Also, the strip may be made of the desired thickness although a similar thickness could not be used when corrugating a tube either because the metal would be too thin to withstand the stresses during the changes of diameter involved or so thick that by its stifiness it would unduly resist if not prevent the formation of the desired corrugations therein.

The corrugated tube I 4 may be sealed in the casing in in any suitable Way. As shown, one end of the casing iii has an inwardly directed flange l l which interlocks with the outwardly directed flange i8 of an end closure member IQ of any suitable form, here shown as having sealed in a central aperture thereof, as by soldering, a nipple 20 having an interior passage 2! which communicates with a radially directed pipe 22, said nipple 20 being formed in any suitable way for the connection of a conduit thereto. Closure member l9 may be sealed in the channel-shaped flange H in any suitable way, as by solder. At

tached to the closure member I9 in any suitable way is an annular channel-shaped member 23 which is adapted to receive the end of the corrugated wall l4 and said channel is preferably of sufficient depth so as to receive more than one corrugation thereof as shown. By standing the casing Iii on end the channel in said member 23 may be filled with fluid solder of any suitable character, as indicated at 24, and the end of the tubular wall l4 may be held therein until the solder congeals to permanently lock the end of the tubular wall M in position. The opposite end closure may be, and is shown as, of identical construction with that just described, including a closure member 25 carrying a central nipple 25 having a passage 21 leading to a radially directed tube 28, said end closure member 25 having suitably attached thereto a channel-shaped member 29 in which fluid solder 3!! may be placed while the casing is on end and into which the end of the wall Hi may be inserted and held while the solder congeals to lock this end of the tubular wall [4 in place, after which the end of the casing ill may be suitably bent or swaged at 3| around the peripheral flange 32 on the end closure member 25 to lock the same in position, solder being added to seal the joint therebetween.

The vapor to be condensed enters the chamber defined by the corrugated wall I4 through one or the other of the nipples 253 and 26 and having been condensed therein the condensate may be withdrawn from or flow through the other of said nipples while cooling medium in proper volume is caused to flow through the spiral passage l6 as heretofore described. The vapor within the condensing chamber 33 is in direct contact throughout its area with the corrugated wall which also is in direct contact throughout the same area with the cooling medium flowing through said spiral passage !5, and hence the area for heat interchange is relatively large. By reason of the corrugations being formed in the manner heretofore described said corrugations can be made of the desired depth and axial width which is not only suitable for increasing the area of heat interchange between the vapor and cooling medium to the desired extent but also to predetermine the cross section of the passage 15 for the desired flow of coolingmedium and length of contact therewith. Thereby the condenser may be made of suitable size to handle efficiently the required volume of vapor, and the wall in heat exchanging relation with the vapor and cooling medium may be made of d ir d thickness. The surface in contact with the vapor may also be formed of a metal that not only facilitates heat exchange but also One that will not react with the vapor. Hence a highly efficient condenser has been provided, and at the same time the parts thereof readily lend themselves to high speed production without the use of highly skilled labor, and as assembly of the component parts is relatively simple, the condenser may be produced at relatively low cost.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawing has been described with considerable particularity, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not restricted thereto as the invention may receive a variety of mechanical expressions, some of which will now readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, while changes may be made in the details of construction, arrangement, proportion, etc., of parts without departing from the spirit of this invention. Thus, for example, other means for attaching the end of the corrugated inner wall to the outer casing, other forms of end closure, brackets, etc., may be employed within the purview of this invention. Furthermore, while the preferred procedure of forming the corrugated inner wall has been described With considerable particularity, it is to be expressly understood that within the broader aspects of this invention any suitable procedure may be employed for forming spiral corrugations of desired proportions from a strip of metal and making a chamber therefrom. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claims for a definition of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a condenser which includes the steps of forming a spirally corrugated tubular Wall having corrugations whose depth is materially greater than their width, providing a casing with an end closure having an annular channel, filling said channel with fluid solder while said casing is on end, holding one or more corrugations at the end of said corrugated wall in said solder until the same is congealed, providing a similar closure for the opposite end or" said casing, filling the channel thereof with fluid solder, and inverting said casing and holding one or more corrugations at the opposite end of said corrugated wall in said last named solder until the same is congealed.

2. A condenser comprising a casing having opposite end walls provided with inlet and outlet connections and also having inlet and outlet connections for a circulating medium communicating with the interior thereof through the peripheral portion of said casing, a spirally corrugated tubularwall having corrugations whose depth is materially greater than their width disposed axially within said casing with the outer bends of said corrugations in contact with said casing whereby said corrugations form with said casing a spiral passage in communication with said connections for the circulating medium and having its radial depth materially greater than its axial width, and means for sealing the ends of said corrugated wall into said casing including channel shaped members carried by said end walls and containing congealed solder in which one or more corrugations at each end of said corrugated ,wall are imbedded.

3. A condenser comprising a casing havingopposite end walls provided with inlet and outlet connections and also having inlet and outlet connections for a circulating medium communieating with the interior thereof through the peripheral portion of said casing, means within said casing providing with said casing a spirally directed passage in communication with said connections for the circulating medium, said last named means including a deeply corrugated tubular metal wall formed of relatively thin metal and having corrugations whose radial depth is materially greater than their width, said corrugated wallhaving its outer bends in contact with the peripheral wall of said casing and including a continuous metal strip of U-shaped cross section having relatively long legs with the extremities thereof reversely' curved and coiled upon itself in overlapping relation at said reversely curved portions, whereby said spirally directed passage has a radial depth which is materially greater than its axial width and the the corrugated Wall to the end walls of said casing.

ANTHONY D. RAPUANO. 

